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I thought you were never supposed to touch a monk.

Well, Crid, the monk is touching him.

Sure... It's very poignant...

Yeah, so poignant I posted it on my FB page...

How you been, anyways? It's wicked hot here in CT, s'posed to hit 100 today. I'd go to the beach but there's no shade...

On the other hand, the tomatoes are getting big, and the leaves on the squash are, like, 3 times the size of my head! And the sunflowers are ginormous, and getting even ginomouser! The roses are going crazy, and my hydrangeas are huge, too! But it's just too hot to sit outside right now.

Back home in Indiana, they're so thirsty for rain that the corn will NOT be knee-high by for the Fourth of July... That may be the first time that's happened in the last forty years. Up north they're doin' jus' fine.

Of course, out here in Lotusland, we're all making money and doing coke and driving along the beach in our ragtop Beemers under sunny skies....

Of course, there's always this.

Another simul-post! Crid, there's meaning in this, I'm just sure of it!!

o.O

Tonga?

OT: Next time someone starts blathering about the importance of being creative, remember this.

Tonga?

No, Kari-Oca village in Brazil. He was there with about 1000 other villagers who were protesting the Belo Monte dam project and Brazil's Amazon forest policies. Creative or not, though, seems his costume is rather at odds with his high-tech communication device!

Interesting article, but I never believed for one minute that moving to somewhere because of the "creative" factor made a damn bit of difference, unless maybe you moved to New York.

Exactly. And New York runs more on animal ambition than creativity serendipity. I grew up in a Madison-ish kind of city, one based on the wealth flowing from a university. It's a like a miniature Europe: They're all very proud of themselves, and certain that their innate excellence has deservedly brought them to that place of refinement and distinction.

The fact that the money for their elegant institutions and amusements was taken at gunpoint through taxation of surrounding Hoosiers never seems to occur to them.

Here in Hollywood, I've met some truly creative people, and actually had a (small, teentsy) piece of their projects: They work like fucking savages. And when they nail it, they're always slamming the budget, crushing the deadline, stomping the spirits of superiors & subordinates, and weeping with desperation.

Creativity is not cheerful.

@Crid - excellent column on the Creative Class -

Hotter'n hayull in beautiful Virginia, with some letup maybe next week. I agree with Flynne; I wouldn't even think about driving to the beach this weekend (that sun can be awful rough on my bald spot).

Crid, what part of Indiana? Hilly or flat?

Flynne,
Do you ever have problems with your squash? Vine Borer Worms? Gross, nasty buggers. One day the plants look fine, the next they've fallen over dying with the insides of the vines eaten out. I can't seem to find a non-chemical solution that works. I seem to have this problem every year...Anyone have any suggestions?

Born on the flat shore of Lake Michigan, raised in the southern hills. (All the glaciers stopped at Indianapolis; they dug the restaurants.)

@Jill

Go through Amy's Amazon link and do a search for Green Light Organic, and that company's lawn/garden insect conrol spray should be first. Good reviews and endorsed for organic gardening.

I'm growing my first garden (and using square foot gardening techniques), and haven't had any bugs yet, but I plan to order a bottle of this to have on hand. Here is a gardening forum that might help too: forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/sqfoot/msg071222323580.html?10

Hi Jill! I was going to answer you and MsMarg beat me to it, but that's cool. This is my first year growing squash and we haven't had any problems yet, but like Ms. Marg, I plan on getting some of Green Light Organic's insect control spray, so thanks and kudos to you, MsMarg! And Ms. Amy for posting the link! This heat is just wiping me out, so I'm doing nothng at the moment but sitting at the computer and trying to cool off. That's not working so well, so I'm going to go get another glass of ice water and park myself under a fan! Unlike my previous residence, this one does NOT have central air!

Thanks MsMarg, I'll try that. Nothing else has worked over the years. I have to rely on my neighbor bringing me his extra zucchini. And they're usually "the ones that got away". By the time he notices and picks them they're so big they resemble the pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

"Do you ever have problems with your squash? Vine Borer Worms? Gross, nasty buggers. One day the plants look fine, the next they've fallen over dying with the insides of the vines eaten out. I can't seem to find a non-chemical solution that works. I seem to have this problem every year...Anyone have any suggestions?"

In Alabama we call them "cutworms". The ones here mainly attack young plants; they leave mature plants alone. When we plant peppers or tomatoes or cukes or the like, we take a medium-size paper cup, tear the bottom out, and slide it down around the plant and a little ways into the ground. That keeps cutworms off the trunk until the plants have had a chance to grow some.

Thanks Cousin Dave, I'm not sure these are the same worm? They don't touch tomatoes or peppers. As a moth, they lay eggs on the vine plants (always squash, not sure about melons or cukes). The eggs hatch as tiny worms that then eat their way through the inside of the vine. By the time you notice the damage done it's usually too late unless you can cut them out and hope the vine can survive. When you cut them out they look a lot like lawn grubs and about the same size. I believe they winter over in the soil and emerge as moths again...